Feelings
by MustHaveZelda
Summary: The new girl in school, a one with a strange past, is having a bit of a rough time. She finds friends and romance through her struggles and finds who she really is. ShadowxOC plus many other pairings. T just to be safe, may be worse later on. Some swearing and other possible 'obscene' things may be said.
1. Chapter 1

**Alright, starting myself off with Sonic the Hedgehog. A few notes: this is a completely non-canon world (Sonic has never saved the world and such, however Shadow was created by Robotnik.), I AM AWARE OF HOW CLICHE AND UNORIGINAL SOME OF THIS WILL BE (I am not the best writer), It will be very fluffy and, dare I say, cheesy. (... means new point of view)**

**I would appreciate it if criticism is kept respectful, I am fully aware I am not the best (also, I suck at typing, so I can guarantee some mistakes, but I will try to keep them at a minimum)**

**Now, ON TO THE STORY! (I only came up with Xena[Zee-nuh], ****the rest belongs to Sega****)**

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Prologue

I didn't feel anything. No emotions. Nothing. All I could do was wander around the house my parents left for me. They had been killed nearly four years ago by that dreadful man that turned me into this... this monster.

No one looked after me. They didn't need to, what, with the fortune that was also left behind. I didn't need anyone!

Or so I told myself. Every once in a while, as I wander around town, sadness creeps its way into my heart. 'What do I do? Nearly sixteen and all I do is walk. Or run.' I think to myself. I've got nothing to live for. Being genetically "enhanced" wasn't the best. You'd think fantastic powers would make life better. Not if theres no reason to use them.

I stumbled upon the thing that would seem the least likely to change my life: The local High School. 'Nearly sixteen' I thought again.

* * *

Chapter 1

September 7th. First day of school. I'd somehow managed to get enrolled with no troubles and was on my way there now. Wearing the school uniform over my dark purple fur, I stepped into the bustling school, actually _feeling_ slightly excited.

(...)

I was in the most stereo-typical school with the most stereo-typical kids along with even more stereo-typical teachers. On my way to 'home room', I saw many people hugging and sqealing at each other claiming they 'hadn't seen them in forever'.

Ugh, this place.

"Boo!" Someone shouted in my ear, unexpectedly. I screamed and turned on them, putting my fists up as if to fight them.

"Rouge!" I groaned, trying to look annoyed, but a chuckle still escaped my lips. The ivory bat laughed along with me.

"Amy, hon. You know you can't stay mad at me!" She smirked, landing down from her floating position.

(...)

Two periods later, I was slightly regretting my decision. Still, nothing. No friends, no fun. The bell rang all of a sudden, signalling for us to go to lunch. I scrambled to get all my things into a pile, dropping them on the floor in the process.

"Here you go." A pink hedgehog with short quills handed me my math book. "Are you new? I've never seen you before." She had a warm smile on her face.

My eyes were wide with surprise. "Thank you." I took the book from her. "Yes, I'm n-new." I told her, shoving all my papers into my bag.

"Oh! Well, then would you like to sit with me and my friends at lunch?" She said kindly.

"Huh?" I gulped loudly. "Uhmm... S-sure..." Did she really want me to come with her? Hm... I better not think too much of it.

"I'm Amy Rose." We made our way to the cafeteria.

"Xena. Xena the Hedgehog."

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**Oh my. Short chapter. I was on a bit of a time limit, but I think it turned out OK. Any way, tell me what you think. See you soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ahhh! I've ignored this for so long. Hoping this chapter will be longer.**

**Hey, YOU! The one that reviewed! THANK YOU SO MUCH! Maybe if you ever come back to this story, tell me who you are? Maybe? You will receive my eternal praise. -w-**

**I do not own Sonic!**

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Amy nearly skipped in front of me towards what I assumed was the lunch room. I was already analyzing her. _She seems to have a lot of energy, but she seems nice. _

"So," She said cheerfully, her steps bouncing. "Did you just move here?"

"Uh..." I didn't know what to say. Truth? Lie? Why did it matter? "No. Just new to the school is all."

"Oh!" A smiled seemed to shine on her face no matter what. "Do you know anyone here? If you don't, I'm sure my friends will love to have you join us!"

"Err... No. No, I don't. Thank you." I paused and looked at her sincerely. "Really." I meant it. I didn't want to come here with my intentions and then not accept anyone into my life.

She looked slightly surprised as we got to the large room known as the cafeteria. "It's nothing!" Her smile was right back. "Like I said, I'm sure that they'll love to have you."

We got our lunches and continued to walk towards the tables. Amy stopped and I looked up from the odd food on my lunch tray. Two very pretty girls, a chipmunk with large red hair and a brown raccoon, stood in our path. Amy's face was contorted into a grimace that I thought I'd never see on the cheery pink hedgehog's face.

"Hello, new girl!" The chipmunk addressed me in a syrupy-sweet tone, ignoring the stink eye Amy was clearly glaring at her with. "My, you are pretty!"

I glanced over at Amy and back. "Err... T-thanks." My eyes drifted to my shoes. What_ did she do to Amy?_

"We can take her off your hands, Amy." She put her hand on my shoulder.

"NO." Amy forcefully locked elbows with me. "No you will not, Sally. _Xena_ has kindly agreed to sit with me."

_What is going on? Who is this Sally? _I was getting no explanation any time soon, it looked like. Sally gave Amy harsh look. "Fine." She snapped. "Well, If you ever get tired of Pinky and her loser squad, there's always an open space for someone so _pretty._" the chipmunk emphasized the last word she said rather scarily, and sassily walked off.

I looked back to Amy as she stamped towards what I assumed to be the table she sat at, nearly dragging me along. "What did she ever do to you?" I inquired her.

"What did she DO?" She looked at me, her expression slightly softened from before. " What HASN'T she done? She's a nasty little pompous bitch that starts rumors, plays nasty pranks, and ruins anyone's life that happens to dislike her the tiniest bit. Along with her little cronies that do anything she so desires. She disgusts me." We got to a table and my companion stopped and sat next to a tan rabbit, gesturing for me to sit across from her, next to a yellow fox.

I did so and Amy ran her gloved hand through her pink bangs.

"We saw the whole thing. What did she say this time?" the rabbit said with concern in her voice. "Oh! Where are my manners? Hello, Ms..." She trailed off, leaving a pause for me to speak.

"Xena. I-I'm Xena." I said back, almost missing the cue.

"Xena! My, what a pretty name." I heard an authentic sweetness in her voice that Sally was definitely lacking. "My name is Cream.

I smiled nervously to her. "I'm Miles Prower! Or Tails. Whatever you prefer." A hand was shoved in front of me, causing me to nearly jump off my seat.

"Oh. H-hello." I put my hand out to shake his, hoping I hadn't offended him by my reaction. Just then, four more people came to accompany us at our table. A green seedrian elegantly sat next to Tails, a cat with a sleek lavender coat and a light grey hedgehog sat next to each other on the other side of Cream, and a bright blue hedgehog plopped himself down next to Amy; all with the mysterious food on their trays.

"Well, who's this?" a smooth voice drifted to my ears.

"Xena, this is Blaze." Amy gestured from me to the lavender cat, her grin came back as if you had flipped a switch to turn it the lights on. "And this is Xena."

"You're new here, too?" The grey hedgehog leaned over to me, almost laying on top of everyone's food. Then again, I doubt they would've minded. "Cosmo here was last year." He jerked his thumb towards the seedrian with short green hair.

"That would be me." Her quiet voice barely reached my ears. "Its very nice to meet you."

"Of course." I smiled. For the first time in a while starting to feel happy, joyful. I felt hope.

"Lean back, Silver. Any further forward and you'll practically be on top of her." I kept from giggling. He fell back to his seat, grumbling. The voice, I found out, came from the blue one, who had been quiet this whole time. I looked over to him and he spoke again. "I'm Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog. You could say I'm the fastest thing alive."

"Cocky bastard." a red echidna said, following a white bat that sat next to Cosmo, placing himself next to said bat. He smirked towards Sonic, signifying he was joking. It didn't keep the cobalt boy from rolling his eyes.

"And you're so oblivious that you didn't even notice that someone new is sitting right there." Sonic gestured at me.

He looked over to me- at first, skeptically, but got over it I assume- and smiled and waved. "The name's Knuckles." Well the name fit him; two spikes decorated the backs of this hands. "This is Rouge." He pointed to the bat.

"Hey, hon. What's that name?" She said across the table.

"It's Xena." I smiled to her, my hope growing with every word said around me. I felt the presence of someone sitting on my left that wasn't there before. I looked to see a dark hedgehog with red-streaked upturned quills. My confidence was bursting by now, so I held out my hand and said "Hello, I'm Xena" and smiled.

The response was a very serious look straight into my eyes and no words. I gulped and put my hand down, instantly regretting what I did. Blushing and looking away, I heard his response.

"Shadow." It was a deep tone.

"Huh?" I looked back up at him.

"My name's Shadow."

"Oh." I said back, blankly. _Shadow. Why is that so familiar?_

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**WOOO! Much longer chapter and I am proud of it. It was a little uneventful, but trust me, it will get better. Hopefully. D: Don't worry about the break between updates being so long like it was last time. Sorry about that!**

**Tell me what you think, but please be respectful and at the same time truthful. Thank you! See you soon!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I AM A BIG LIAR. I LIED AND I AM SORRY. I AM FULL OF EMPTY PROMISES. I LEFT WITH THE PROMISE OF SHORTER BREAKS AND I HAVE LIED IMMENSELY. I APOLOGIZE FOUR MILLION TIMES FOR MY DECEIT.**

**Anyways, back to this story. As you asked, more description in this chapter. I have good ideas for this. I hope you think they're good, too.**

**ATTENTION: Calling all possible editors, or if you need an editor, or if you just want a friend. :) Because I currently know no one that is a part of this website and I would like to. If you need help or would like to give me some help, check out my profile for what I will be writing about and PM me! Love to hear from you!**

* * *

The day was done. No other incidents. I was currently walking to the end of the school where the buses were said to wait for the students to board them. I was walking with Rouge and Blaze, which I have my last hour of the day with, which is Gym class.

"What bus do you ride home?" Blaze inquired me with her smooth voice.

"Err..." I paused, thinking for a moment and quickly started rifling through my bag for my school information packet. "ID number... homeroom..." I mumbled to myself, eyes skimming over various words. "Bus number: 6."

"Looks like you're ridin' with me, doll." Rouge put her arm around me as she spoke. "Silver and Shadow, too."

"...Shadow..." I ignored the arm on my shoulders as I was reminded of the mysterious familiarity that was Shadow the Hedgehog. I put my hand on my peach-colored muzzle and thought. Nothing. My thoughts were interrupted by Rouge.

"Ooooh! Thinking about Shadow, huh?" The light colored bat took her arm back and observed my face with a look in her eyes I'd never seen.

"Oh no. Rouge, don't!" Blaze sounded annoyed. She turned to me, "You've just entered her level of expertise. At least she assumes you have." The cat rolled her eyes dramatically.

My eyes lit up. I turned my head to her so quickly that my waist length quills flew everywhere. "Oh, you know where I might have heard the name Shadow before?"

They both had confused looks on their faces now. "Huh?" They both asked.

"Why would you have heard of Shadow?" Rouge asked again.

Now it was my turn to be confused. "Oh, umm... I don't know..." I looked at my shoes again. "H-his name sounded familiar to me..." I was nervous again. What if my new acquaintances thought I was strange?

"Well, I don't know, doll. Shadow's no superstar or anything like that." Rouge stated with a little confusion left in her voice.

"Oh. Wait. What were you talking about, then?" I looked to Blaze.

"What? Oh. Oh!" She chuckled. "Rouge thought... Well... Rouge though that you liked Shadow."

I cocked my head to the side. "I have only known Shadow for less than half a day. I do not like nor dislike him. It is almost impossible for me to make a conclusion on my opinion of Shadow, for I know nothing about him."

As we approached the doors leading outside the building and they both looked shocked. Blaze cracked a smile and began to laugh. We both looked at her, confused.

I looked to Rouge. "Was something I said humorous?"

She shrugged and opened her mouth to speak, but Blaze's laughter sputtered out and she managed to point at me. "I like you!" She said. "I knew you were nice, but now I'm sold! Can we be friends from now on?" She put her arms around both of us and we stepped towards the doors.

"Of course, Blaze." All of us smiling, we stepped out into the blinding sun.

* * *

I stepped warily onto the bus right after Rouge. She sat at a seat across from an already seated Shadow with earbuds lazily put into his ears. I sat next to her and set my bag on my lap. Silver then got on the bus and jumped into the seat Shadow was sitting in, causing his earbuds to fall out.

"Hey Shadow! How was your day?" Silver said, poking Shadow multiple times in the arm.

The black hedgehog rolled his eyes and shoved Silver's hand away. "It was the first day back in High School, how do you think it was?" He said, obviously very annoyed.

"Well, my day was pretty good considering I get to see all of you again!" Silver enthused, snaking his arms around Shadow and squeezing him as hard as he could.

Shadow sighed. "Get off me." He shoved him so hard that he fell out of the seat and into the isle between seats. Shadow chuckled at his success and put the earbuds back in.

Silver grumbled and sat back down as Rouge tried extremely hard not to laugh at the two bickering.

"So, Xena, how was your first day?" There were only a few words to describe Silver's voice. A couple of which were loud and slightly gritty, yet cheerful. It wasn't the most appealing to listen to.

I smiled at him. "It was okay." I said plainly. "Beside the whole Sally business." All three of them looked at me. "What?"

"What Sally business, hon?" Rouge said, slight worry in her green-blue eyes.

"Oh, Amy got mad at a girl named Sally because she wanted me to sit by her and her friends. I don't know why she would be mad... She seemed kind of nice-" I was cut off by Silver's loud voice.

"_Nice_?!" Silver shouted. "She is ANYTHING but nice!"

"Well, I've heard that, but I haven't been told why you think so." I tried to say calmly, failing miserably. I was becoming frustrated because of how little I knew of these people.

"She told the he whole school I was a prostitute because her boyfriend looked at me." Rouge put in, as nonchalantly as possible. I looked at her, wide eyed.

"She tripped me in the hall way causing me to knock over about fifty other people. They didn't let go of it for a month." Silver sounded as if he were going to blow up.

"She spread a rumor that I killed someone." Shadow said flatly. I looked at him cautiously.

"She wasn't right, was she?" I wondered if that was where I'd heard of him. _A criminal?_

"No." He smirked. "You're funnier than I thought." He laughed a little.

_No, not a criminal. _I didn't acknowledge the part about me being funny. He's just being nice. "She sounds awful." Shadow's smile disappeared. Why? I couldn't tell you. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize! You didn't do all that awful stuff." Silver attempted to console me. It didn't work. I couldn't help but feel sorry for her awful deeds.

_Hey, at least you're feeling something._

"I have an idea, lets not talk about horrible people." Shadow interjected.

"I guess we can't talk about Shadow, then." Silver said matter-of-factly.

That earned him a good punch in the shoulder from Shadow. Rouge laughed at them and I let a giggle escape my mouth.

* * *

When the bus got to the stop closest my house, I stood and the grey hedgehog sitting in the seat next to me stood also. Apparently, Silver lived near me. I stepped down the stairs and after the bus started off again, I surveyed my surroundings. I recognized the area and went in the direction of my house, bag slung over my shoulder.

"Hey!"

I turned to see Silver jogging to catch up to me. From what I knew, Silver was quite nice. I smiled and raised my hand to wave, but he tripped. Instead of face-planting, like I expected, he stopped mid-air. I gasped and widened my grey eyes at the green-glowing, floating hedgehog in front of me.

"Wha-?" I stuttered.

He planted his feet back firmly on the ground and he saw my shocked expression. "Oh, heh heh... I have recently mastered telekenesis." He said proudly.

"Uh-huh..." _Close your mouth, Xena. You have no right to judge him because of this, considering you're-_

"I get that a lot." He was still bursting pride. "The look, I mean."

"I bet." I replied._ Now, it looks like you have some potential friends on your hands._

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**Ooh boy. Sorry about any grammatical or spelling errors. I am awful at typing. This chapter might be slightly boring. I promise the next couple won't be. I made this a little bit longer, too. I think. As always, I'd love to hear from you and I'll have the next chapter up in a bit. Love you guys!**


	4. Chapter 4

**ONCE AGAIN, I HAVE LEFT A HUGE BREAK. I am disappointed in myself. WARNING: swearing and fluff and cliche-ness. (weird combination...)**

**I don't own Sonic or any of the songs or games mentioned.**

* * *

The week had gone by and nothing major happened, surprisingly. Only simple glares and whispers from Sally and her friends. I had grown to know my new friends (I just recently decided to address them as this) and I think they like me more than I expected.

On Thursday, Rouge took me and the rest of us to the mall because she claimed I 'absolutely _needed _new clothes and make-up!', also picking up a cell phone and other acclaimed 'necessities'. She could be so-in one word-girly. Both her and Amy. They both made fun of me for my love of the song '_Everytime We Touch', _but they can't blame me, my mother used to sing it all the time, but that's beside the point.

Now today was Friday and it was suggested we all hang out that night. A 'sleepover' so to say. The boys were to leave early, though. I suggested that my house would be a suitable place and all agreed after saying that I didn't need to do that, but I didn't mind. Having company for the first time in years would be exciting.

The creaking sounding old doorbell rang and I slid down the banister to get to the door quicker. I swung the door open to reveal an eager looking Amy and Cream.

"Your house is HUGE!" Amy squealed, not minding to wait for permission to step inside. "That chandelier is gorgeous!"-she gasped-"and this wallpaper is so elegant!" She screeched at all the beautiful aspects of the house and I smiled nervously. Cream came up behind me and put her delicate hand on my shoulder.

"You should be used to this by now. Its not going to change." I laughed and she continued, smiling, "The house is beautiful though. How old is it?"

I opened my mouth to say I didn't know, but there was a knock on the door frame. I turned and saw the door hanging open and a confused looking Cosmo. "Hello Xena. Oh my, what is Amy doing?"

I smiled and four more figures approached the front step. I invited in Cosmo, Rouge, Knuckles, Silver, and Blaze. The rest arrived within minutes and they began exploring the house.

"Damn, Purple. Big place." Shadow smiled at his choice of words. That boy was a mystery. His name still evades my memories, but I've let it be for the time being.

I giggled stupidly at him, Rouge seeing. She came nearer and spoke. "Is there a place we could hang for a while?"

Her smirk was unnerving. _What's she planning_? I thought. "Uhm... Follow me." I walked toward the living room, head down, hiding my blushing face. In the living room were windows letting in the light left from the overcast sky and a sofa and chair along one wall, facing a TV. The kitchen was connected to this room leaving a very open feel.

Instead of seating themselves on the furniture, they sat on the floor in a circle and I joined them. We sat arranged in this way: Me, Shadow, Knuckles, Rouge, Blaze, Cream, Tails, Sonic, Amy(who had shoved her way next to Sonic after he sat down, Silver, Cosmo, and back to me.

Tails spoke up after we sat, "What do you guys want to do?" He sounded eager to have fun. Then the thought struck me, are my guests bored? I hadn't planned anything to do. How stupid I was.

"How about Truth or Dare?" Rouge said, strangely. There was that weird look in her eyes again.

Most of the group groaned. "How do you play?" I inquired the beaming white bat.

"You've never played?!" Silver screeched at me. "That's it! I don't care what the rest of you say! WE ARE PLAYING TRUTH OR DARE!" He pointed towards the ceiling dramatically and looked over to me.

"How do you play?" I asked them again. They explained the rules of 'Truth or Dare'. It didn't sound _too _bad.

"Amy, you start."

"Okay!" She paused, speculating who her first victim should be. "Shadow! Truth or dare?"

He looked grumpy at her decision and sighed. "Dare." He said after a moment's pause.

She grinned evilly. "I dare you..." she looked back and forth between Silver and Shadow and her grin grew wider, "to hold Silver's hand until your next turn!" She and everyone but the two hedgehogs broke into laughter, we all knew of Shadow's dislike of Silver.

Shadow grumbled. "No way in hell..." He sounded genuinely upset.

"C'mon, Mr. Shadow! You have to! It's the rules." Cream got out between bouts of laughter.

"Shit." Shadow whispered. "Get over here." He said reluctantly and angrily. Silver stood up without words and Sat between The dark hedgehog and Knuckles, who was still clutching his sides. Shadow snatched the gloved hand of the silvery boy and nearly crushed it. He turned to Knuckles and smiled a fake, cruel smile. "Truth or dare?" He growled. Silver looked afraid for his hand's health as the red streaked boy held it tightly.

Knuckles' laughing vanished with the scary look. "Heh heh... Truth." He replied.

"Tell me how you _really_ feel about Rouge." He looked satisfied with himself and judging by Silver's less excruciating expression, Shadow loosened his grip on his hand.

Several turns later, I was thoroughly enjoying myself. Shadow still grudgingly held onto Silver's hand, even when Silver had to quote Shakespeare from memory. Rouge had to give Sonic a piggy-back ride around the house as she sang '_Call Me Maybe'. _Sonic, the most confident person they all knew, had to tell of a time he actually felt embarrassed, which was funny for everyone, and Blaze had to refrain from rolling her eyes at anything we said and was, not surprisingly, very difficult for her.

"Xena!" Blaze said. "Truth or dare?"

I hadn't even thought about what I would pick. I went with what my brain told me first. "Dare." I replied.

Amy gasped and went over to Blaze and whispered something into her ear. I became worried.

Blaze smiled and said, "I dare you to sing _Everytime We Touch." _

The color rushed from my face. "Sing? In front of everyone?" I gulped. I didn't know if I could do that.

"It'll be fun! Don't worry about it!" Cosmo reassured me.

"Okay..." I said hesitantly and went to grab my computer. I looked up a karaoke version of the song and picked one that looked quality. I put it on full volume and set it down on the couch.

The song started and I prepared to sing.

**"I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me.  
I still feel your touch in my dreams."**

I began with my eyes closed. I thought it might be easier.

**"Forgive me my weakness, but I don't know why.  
Without you its hard to survive.  
'Cause everytime we touch, I get this feeling,"**

I got an idea. My eyes sprang open and I grabbed Amy's hand and pulled her up to stand with me. I continued this around the circle of my friends.

**"And everytime we kiss, I swear I could fly."**

I began to dance and pulled the rest of them into the dancing also.

**"****Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last.  
Need you by my side.  
'Cause everytime we touch, I feel the static.  
And everytime we kiss, I reach for the sky.  
Can't you hear my heart beat so...  
I can't let you go.  
Want you in my life."**

As the instrumental played, we jumped around and danced, everyone was smiling and laughing.

**"****Your arms are my castle, your heart is my sky.  
****They wipe away tears that I cry.  
****The good and the bad times, we've been through them all.  
****You make me rise when I fall.**

**'Cause everytime we touch, I get this feeling.**  
**And everytime we kiss I swear I could fly.**  
**Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last.**  
**Need you by my side.**  
**'Cause everytime we touch, I feel the static.**  
**And everytime we kiss, I reach for the sky.**  
**Can't you hear my heart beat so...**  
**I can't let you go.**  
**Want you in my life.**

**'Cause everytime we touch, I get this feeling.**  
**And everytime we kiss I swear I could fly.**  
**Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last.**  
**Need you by my side."**

As the song ended, I realized I had ended up in someone's arms. I looked up to see red eyes and a smile of complete adoration and happiness. I blushed. Shadow the Hedgehog was holding me. There was a buzzing in my head and my stomach did a flip. All I could do was stare back at him with my mouth slightly open with surprise.

_What am I feeling?_

Someone cleared their throat. We both looked over to everyone standing and watching us, mouths gaping. His arms were gone as fast as I noticed they were there.

"You sang well." The ebony hedgehog went back to his place on the ground, leaving me confused as ever. I looked back at the group and they looked just as confused as I felt. The pause was uncomfortable and awkward. I mostly felt bad, not for myself, but for Shadow. He looked like the looks were killing him. His face was red and all I wanted to do was to save him.

I cleared my throat and looked at the clock. "Oh, Gosh. It's uh... It's nearly 8:00. Are you guys hungry?" There was agreement from everyone and I was glad my attempt to change the subject and bring them back to normal worked. "I'll call for pizza."

I did so and Knuckles spoke up, "Hey, Xena?"

I looked over to the dreadlocked boy. "Yeah?" I said plainly.

"Do you have any video games?" He smirked.

"Yeah, I think I have some old ones." I brought memories back to mind.

"Yeah!" Tails squealed. "We could have a competition or something!"

"That sounds like fun!" Cream added. "Lets go get them!"

"Alright. I'll help." Blaze stood. We walked up the stairs and to a supply closet. I pulled the creaking doors towards myself and pulled out a storage bin filled with a tangle of wires and cartridges. As I reached down to grab it, Blaze's hand was placed on my shoulder.

"Hey, err... Xena?" I looked up at her. She looked slightly nervous. "Don't worry about Shadow. He's a bit shy. If you ever become good friends with him, just be patient. He's unpredictable." The lavender cat's smile was nervous and worried.

I looked at her, confusion in my eyes.

She sighed. "What I'm trying to say is that I just want you to be understanding of me and my friends. We can get a bit weird and crazy. They are all very kind people, though." She looked defeated.

My stomach twisted. Me think they're weird?

_No! I'm the weird one! If only you knew..._

I wanted to say something consoling to her, but no words would come.

I was saved by the doorbell ringing. Blaze carried the box down and I went to answer the door to receive the pizzas. I got a glimpse of the dark clouds outside. After the man walked away, I closed the door and turned around. Shadow was standing there.

"I want to apologize for earlier." He said. To be honest, he didn't sound very genuine. His head was down and I could tell he was hiding his red face. "There was no reason for me to do that. Uhm... sorry."

This wasn't expected to say the least. I tried to say something, but he walked away before I could. They were all being too apologetic and worried. I wish they had more faith in themselves.

Everyone but the four in the middle of a MarioKart match were eating pizza and watching or talking.

Tails and Sonic were laughing at how bad Knuckles was at the game and as Knuckles crashed his car into a wall again and a huge crash of thunder sounded outside and immediately began to rain.

We all looked surprisedly out the window at the black skies flashing with lightning. Thunder boomed and everything went dark. Multiple screams came from the easily recognizable voices of Amy and Cream along with other surprised noises from the rest.

"The power went out?" I blinked multiple times, trying to get my eyes to adjust. "Great."

A glowing came from the other side of the room. A small flame ahead begun dancing in the palm of a certain cat's hand.

We set up a ring of candles around us and Blaze lit them all with a snap of her fingers.

"It looks like we're performing some kind of demonic ritual." Silver chuckled at the spectacle.

"You watch too many horror films..." Cosmo shook her head at him.

Tails was still peering out of the window and the raging storm. "I don't know about you guys, but I don't think we're getting out of here with this kind of weather." His voice shook.

"If you are comfortable with it, I have an extra guest room you could use to sleep in." I suggested.

They hesitated. "I suppose we have no choice, do we?" Sonic said finally.

They looked to the storm. "I guess not." Knuckles added.

Cream yawned loudly. "There's not much else to do without power. I think we should-" she stifled another yawn, "-go to sleep."

The comment suddenly made everyone tired. "I suppose you are right. Let's try to get upstairs in this dark." Blaze grabbed a candle and everyone followed suit.

"Goodnight." I said to the boys after I showed them their room.

"Goodnight, Sonic!" Amy yelled through the slightly open door.

There was a just audible groan from the other side of the door. "Goodnight, Amy." He replied without feeling. Laughs could be heard from Knuckles and we walked away and piled into the master bedroom which I had claimed mine a long time ago.

With sleeping bags rolled out and pajamas put on, we laid down on the floor and bed. Many cries of 'goodnight' sounded and we went to sleep. I was dozing off when there was a poke on my shoulder and a whisper of my name.

It was Rouge, who laid beside me on the queen-sized bed.

"Hm?" I said and turned towards her. She was smiling madly.

"I just wanted to let you know that I think you've brought someone who doesn't share their feelings into the light." She whispered back and then went back into a sleeping position.

My stomach churned once again. _What does she mean?_

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**Hoooo boy. That was a LONG chapter, but hopefully more interesting. I don't know whether to be proud of it or to be sorry for it.**

**HEY, YOU KNOW HOW SHE KEEPS SAYING THAT SHE'S WEIRD AND THAT SHES A MONSTER? Yeah, that's finally going to come into play, so GET EXCITED! I sure am excited to write it.**

**As always, tell me what you think and I'll see you later! LOVE YOU *kisses* ...No... Not gonna start doing that.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello! I'm so excited for this chapter. Hope you like it!**

**I don't own Sonic**

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_I was standing in the ruins of a room and I felt the feeling subside. The anger._

_I heard somebody calling my name._

_"Xenaaa. Xeeeenaaa." I ran towards the voice. I ran. I ran. As fast as I could. Where were they? They voice twisted and became louder. I turned and searched. There was nothing. "XENA!" _

I sat up quickly and shook the fright out of my head.

"Xena?" Rouge looked worried. She was kneeling next to me on the bed. "You all right?"

My mind was still slightly blurred with sleep. "Hm- yeah."

"Okay." She replied hesitantly. I rubbed my continued she continued while smiling. "I just woke Amy up. We're going to pull a prank on the boys." She seemed so excited. And awake.

"Are you sure?" I wasn't. "What are you going to do?" So she explained to me her plan.

"So can we?" Her pleading eyes were hard to refuse to.

"Well, if you're sure, I'm not stopping you..." I hoped she knew what she was doing.

She woke up the rest of the girls and got ready for the day. She told them what she was planning and went into action. We stayed in the room with the door closed and her and Amy went over to the boys' room. We heard the door open quickly and both Rouge and Amy scream:

"FIRE!" Multiple screams and shouts could be heard with one, long, unmistakable, high-pitched scream and Blaze broke into laughter at this. "T-that's Silver!" She squealed.

We all heard them stomp down the stairs and swing the door open and run outside. Cream peeked out the window and I joined her. They were all running to the front yard and there were a few inaudible shouts and a blur and Sonic ran back to the house.

The door banged open and Sonic was on the other side, looking frightened.

To his obvious surprise, we all sat on the other side of the door, laughing our asses off.

"What the hell is going on?!" Sonic looked at us impatiently.

"Y-you just g-g-got pra-a-anked!" Even Cosmo's words were shaking with laughter.

Sonic groaned. "You have got to be kidding me!"

After breakfast, my friends left. They had soon forgiven us for the prank and we laughed about it. Shadow had given me a small hug before he left. Silver kept whining to him about his hand. It had swollen, giving the impression that he sprained it.

On Sunday night, I did whatever homework I had and right when I was finishing my new phone rang. The noise still surprised me.

I picked it up and ,with some trouble, answered it. "Hello?"

"Hi, Xena." I recognized the voice immediately.

"Hi, Cream." I smiled into the phone, even though I knew she couldn't see me.

"I just wanted to say thanks again for letting us sleep over at your house. The boys appreciated it too. We all had a lot of fun." I could hear the smile in her voice.

"Of course, it was nothing." She was too great.

"And also, I'm really glad that you're our friend now."

"M-me too." I replied after a moment. I fell asleep with a smile on my face that night.

I decided that I would run to school Monday morning. I got there within a minute and walked to English class. Neither Knuckles or Silver were there when I got there, surprisingly. They usually got to school before me. After a minute, the both came into the room, snickering.

When Silver saw me he started laughing harder. "HEY, XENA!" He said quite loudly through his laughter.

"Hi, Xena." Knuckles said more calmly.

"What're you laughing about?" I asked them skeptically.

Silver put his bandaged hand to his mouth. "N-nothing- hee hee! Nothing you n-need to worry about!"

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. Class went as usual and then the bell rang. I said goodbye to the two and walked to art, meeting up with Cream on the way.

I skipped the greeting and went straight to what I wanted to say. "Do you know why Knuckles and Silver were laughing so hard this morning?"

"Oh, that." She paused and looked away for a moment. "Well, they were making fun of Shadow and he got, in two words, very pissed."

"Oh. Why would they be making fun of him?" I wondered.

"Well... because of you." She looked apologetic. "It is obvious that he likes you and-"

"They are exploiting that?!" I cut her off, ignoring the feeling I got when she said that he liked me.

She looked surprised. "I suppose so..."

The rest of art and math class went normally and then me and Amy walked to lunch. I sat down at the table with my mystery food and smiled at my friends. Shadow smiled a small smile at me when he sat down and I began talking to them as usual.

All of a sudden, Cosmo looked past the end of the table and said, "Oh, no."

'Oh, no' was right. Sally was heading their way with an evil smirk plastered on that make-up covered face.

She approached the table. "Hello, everybody!" she enthused. Her white teeth glinted. "I heard about your little 'party', Xena." She put air quotes around the word 'party' as she addressed me. Rouge stood up to say something, but I stopped her and stood up myself, feeling it was my responsibility to deal with her.

"Oh? Is she trying to defend you? What did you all _do _that night?" Her face was faking innocence and surprise.

"Stop." I barely whispered at her. I could feel it brewing inside of me again. The anger.

"Xena, don't tell me you did anything ruining your perfect... _innocence." _Her voice was filled with mock concern.

"Sally, don't." My voice was barely above a whisper. I felt it. And saw it. The dark aura growing around me. I didn't want this to happen.

"Don't tell me that the lovely Xena, is actually-"

"Stop it." Now I was talking with a volume barely at a normal speaking level. I clenched my teeth and eyes shut, tears threatening to fall. Rage was burning in my stomach.

"A _slut_?" She was still smirking evilly.

"STOP!" I screamed. It all happened within seconds. The aura burst into dark flames. I felt my muscles growing, my eyes glowing white, my fingernails and teeth grew razor-sharp. In a split-second my clawed hand was around Sally's throat, and she was pushed up against the cafeteria wall. "LEAVE ME AND MY FRIENDS ALONE!" I snarled at her.

I saw the fright and surprise in her eyes. I hit me. Not again. I let her fall back onto her feet and she grasped her neck, giving me only a small glimpse of the singed fur. As I reverted back to my normal state, I looked around me and saw every one in the lunch room staring silently. Even my friends sat in shock. Tears silently fell from my eyes. I felt sick. I ran from the room with no intention of coming back.

I kept running, but my stomach threatened to release anything that it might be holding and I pushed my back against the wall I was next to. I slid to the floor, hugged my knees to my chest, and put my face in them, continuing to bawl.

"Oh, Xena..." A sweet voice said sadly. I heard hurried footsteps and then felt a hand on my arm. "I know you didn't mean any harm, Xena. Please don't cry." Cosmo consoled me sweetly.

I lifted my head to look at her with red, puffy eyes. "Why aren't you asking me what that was all about? Why I went berserk and turned into a- a- a freak!" I couldn't control my sobs or my volume, but I didn't care if I was loud.

She shook her head. "Because that is not necessary at the moment. If you don't want to share, then that is okay with me."

"T-thank you." I said back, what she said calmed me down a bit.

"And for the record, I thought that was bad-ass." She smiled and winked.

I chuckled at hearing Cosmo use the term 'bad-ass'. It sounded so wrong in her voice; I couldn't help it.

A different voice intruded. "Can I talk to her for a minute, Cosmo?"

She turned to look at Shadow, who looked urgent. "Of course." She turned back to me. "Will you be alright?"

I nodded silently and she stood up and walked back to the cafeteria. Shadow kneeled where she had been and stared into my eyes. I stared back and sniffled a few times.

"I know you from somewhere." He said after a moment. I widened my eyes, but let him continue. "I wasn't sure of it before, but now I'm convinced."

I was curious to know what he was going to say, but I couldn't help but think that he looked so comfortable and that I wanted to hug him and stay there forever. _No, Xena. You can't do that. . . . . Yes you can!_

I reached forward and grabbed him, bringing myself closer and shoving my face into his school-uniform-covered chest and sobbed once more. He put his hands on my shoulders and pushed me back to arms length.

"You okay, Purple?" He looked concerned.

"N-No! Look what I did!" I couldn't keep my emotions to myself because I was so overwhelmed. "I hurt her!"

"Xena, it's okay." His voice was so nice to listen to that it made me agree with him.

"What do I do?" I asked hopelessly.

"You walk back in there with your dignity and we'll talk about this there. Don't worry, I'll be right by your side." He stood up and put his hand out for me to grab. I did and stood by him. He was considerably taller than me.

We walked to the cafeteria and went inside. There were heads instantly turned and the murmuring got louder. I shrank back, but Shadow put his arm around me. I looked up to his face and he nodded once and smiled. My stomach turned and I smiled back.

I continued with a straighter back and with my head held high. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sally with her hand on her neck, whispering angrily to her friends. I didn't care. I sat with my friends and they all looked at me, speechless. I swallowed and looked back at them.

"Can I just explain later, please?" I looked at them pleadingly. They all nodded and gave understanding smiles. "Thanks." I looked down.

There are no words to describe how I felt at this moment. The best way to say it would be hopeless, embarrassed, worried, exposed, ashamed, scared, and other words I can't even think of.

After school, we all decided to walk to a park, where I would explain myself. Shadow pulled me to the side after we had gotten there and all the rest of them sat underneath a large, shady tree.

"I never got to finish earlier." I let him go on. "I know you..." It was amazing how much everything was coming together. When he finished, I felt so stupid for not realizing it. I only knew him from the most horrific and scarring event in my life. The exact same incident I was about to explain to my friends.

* * *

**Ooooooh little bit off a cliff hanger. I need to get better at updating faster. **

**Tell me what you think? Doing so might actually encourage me to write more often, if you care enough about the story.**

**By the way, an idea for another story is brewing in my head. It's another high school AU. Oops. If you are wondering about my SSBB fanfic, I'm probably going to ignore it for a while. I prematurely posted that and have no idea what to do with it. Sorry! See you soon!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I no longer have any excuses. I'm sorry, but I dont want to make any promises. More frequent updates are what I'm shooting for. But again, no promises. **

**There is a little bit of language in here, just to let you know. I hope you enjoy.**

**I don't own anything.**

* * *

I stood in front of them, their expectant faces craving an explanation of my monstrous transformation. My stomach churned at the memories being brought up once more in the awful four years since it happened. I opened my mouth to begin the story, but my throat went dry. I cleared it and started once more.

"If you haven't put it together, I was the previous mayor's daughter." I said quietly.

Cream gasped. "Not the one that got- Oh, Xena! How didn't we notice it sooner?"

"The house... The lack of people home... You never even mentioned a family member..." Tails muttered and put his face in his hands.

I didn't bother replying. "It was all over the news, but no one but me knew a exactly what happened."

_A van pulled up to the house and there was a knock at the door. My parents left me in the living room to answer it. I heard a little bit of talking, but then next to silence for a while after._

_I stood up. "Mom?" I called._

_Nothing._

_I walked to the entryway and cried out at the sight before me. A man was slinging my mother and father's limp bodies over his shoulder. This man was large, and rather spherical._

_He caught sight of me and paused. He then stepped into my home, walking ever closer to me. I didn't do anything; I was frozen from fear. He reached to his back pocket and pulled out a laser-like weapon and pointed it directly at my forehead. I heard the trigger click and then nothing._

_I woke up in a cold metal room. It was dimly lit and bars covered one side. My mother laid on one side of me, but my father was nowhere to be seen._

_When my mom finally woke up, she was just as confused as I had been. We sat, hoping for the best. We waited, but had no way of telling how long it had been._

_Something creaked and both of us jumped in surprise. The sound of a door closing echoed through the empty area. A large silhouette passed into view behind the bars. It was the man I saw take my parents and put a weapon to my head._

_My mother hugged me tighter. "What do you want?" She snarled._

_"Calm down, Margaret." He said as if he was her best friend. "All I wanted to say was that your husband, Toby, is it? Is alive. For now. He... lets just say he's going to help me in my experiments."_

_She stood up and grabbed the bars angrily. "What have you done to him?!" She screamed. "Where is he?!"_

_He stepped back to the door that clanged shut moments before. He opened it and turned back to the cell. "Goodnight, ladies!"_

_My mother tried to console me, tell me it would all be okay, but I wasn't so convinced. we were given food everyday, but the portions were small and the quality was awful. Many nights, we cried ourselves to sleep._

_It was hard to tell time, but after days, maybe even weeks, he came back. He blasted us with the same weapon and I woke up alone. My mother had gone and I was afraid. The same routine went on, though._

_The large man clattered through the door once more. He stared directly at me with no emotion, and a looked back at him with scared eyes. "Xena... About your parents." More fear poured into me. "They resisted, failed, and were not qualified. This leaded... to their deaths."_

_I was frozen. Tears once again poured from my face. It couldn't be true. There was no way. No. No. No. No. No._

_"No!" My voice cracked._

_He ignored my outburst. "Now you must aid me." His voice was steady and unemotional. He walked to the cell door and unlocked it. Stepping in walking towards me, he held his hand out. "Now if you'll come with me, it will be easier for the both of us."_

_"No!" I was still crying. "I-I won't help y-you!"_

_"Now, Xena-"_

_"Don't say my name!" I panicked and ran past him and out the door._

_"Get her!" He shouted and robots almost instantaneously tackled me to the cold ground._

_The force of them knocked me out, and once again, I woke up with a headache. I was somewhere new this time. A... Hospital bed? I heard a door open and I looked to the noise._

_"Ah, you're awake. Seeing as you were already conveniently out cold, I took the liberty of performing my first experiment."_

_No. He's still here, I'm still here. Which means... Mom and Dad... I got angry. "What did you do to me?! Where am I?!" I tried to get off the bed, but I got light-headed and had to sit back. "What did you..." I grew nauseous._

_"Oh, nothing big really." He said non-chalantly._

_This continued for days and days. He performed many; both painful and painless, mainly the former, experiments and tests. He modified my brain and tampered with my DNA. I had barely any hope for what was left of me. My mind became weak and my body felt strange and unnatural due to all of the changes made to it._

_After a while of this unbelievable torture, the tests grew further and further apart. The scientist mentioned a 'new project' here and there, and even once an 'ultimate life form'. I didn't pay much attention to what he said; I was becoming more isolated and depressed every minute._

_He started working on such project, even with me in the room. Plus, he seemed to have a bad habit of talking to himself._

_"If we find Shadow and bring him here... It can't fail..." He would mumble. "If I get... He can... There's no doubt he has unmatchable power."_

_I couldn't bring myself to care about what he was saying. One day, I had a new, unconscious companion sharing my cell. A black hedgehog lie in the dark corner. I merely got a glimpse of him before the scientist showed up and blasted me with the same weapon as before._

_This time when I was awakened, I... I was in my living room? I didn't dare think that it was all a dream._

_Sure enough, there he was. The scientist, standing across the room and looking rather impatient._

_"You will not share this with anyone." He said. He went away with not one other word._

_I was confused, to say the least. _

"I noticed that he assumed I didn't know enough about what he had done to me over the past while to be able to access my new powers. He assumed I was a stupid little girl that could just go back to my normal life even without the two most important people in my life!" I got louder and louder with every word. "He assumed that he had NOT JUST RUINED ME AND MY WHOLE FUTURE!" I shouted with tears in my eyes.

The dark aura grew around me once again, but the process went no further because of an uncontrolled sob. I fell onto my knees with my face in my hands. I sat there for many moments before I calmed down and stood up shakily once more.

I saw instantly many of my friends had tears covering their faces, but all of them were shocked and lost for words. Drowning in the unbelievable story just poured into their minds unprepared, their mouths hung open, willing for words to automatically find their way out.

Shadow slowly walked up to me and I saw that he was not crying, though he looked very worried. "Xe-" he cleared his throat, "Xena, I... I had no idea... I-I'm so sorry." He pulled me close and wrapped his arms tightly around me. I accepted the hug and returned it. He let go and looked into my eyes.

"I'm okay." I said back and managed a weak smile.

"Oh, Xena!" Silver shouted suddenly. He dashed foreward and seized me in his arms, tears bursting from his eyes. He sobbed loudly.

"S-silver... please get off. I'm alright." I chuckled. "You should be too."

I felt another pair of arms around me and soon enough, I had all of my friends in a big group hug. I smiled.

I would have never believed that this group of misfit teenagers would be my best friends. I take pride in them.

And they bring me joy that I never could have experienced without them.

I woke up the next morning dreading going to school. I may have told my friends what happened, but the whole school didn't know my story. The rumor definitely will have spread.

I slowly got ready to leave. I decided taking the bus would be a bad idea, so I ran to school once more.

I arrived to my English class as usual and the few students already sitting in desks, talking to friends were silenced. I resisted the urge to look at them and went straight to my seat next to Silver and Knuckles. They smiled and said hello.

All through class, it was obvious everybody kept glancing in my direction and muttering. I could also tell that our teacher had no clue about yesterday's events. I'd much rather be practically invisible like before.

Art was nearly the same, though Cream and Cosmo were a little more comforting.

"Don't worry about them, Xena, please." They would say. It was hard to ignore. At least one pair of eyes was watching me at all times.

Just as I expected, math was no better. Especially with Amy trying to defend me. I fruitlessly tried to get her to stop before the bell rang for lunch.

Sally's friends didn't look the least bit happy to see me. The mixed looks of fear and anger surrounding me as I walked towards the lunch table with Amy made me want to run away. It was too much attention and stress. '_I can't handle it. Yes I can. I have to. I must do it for my friends. I just need to keep telling myself that_.'

They were piercing, their eyes. Their looks screamed angrily at me. 'You're a monster' they said, 'why are you here?' They said. I looked frantically from side to side at them all. I snapped.

I dropped the tray in my hands and ran out the doors, breathing hard. I stopped, already having started to hyperventilate. My shoulders shook with my every breath. The feeling sank in again, the panic. I sat against a wall once again.

'_I can't go back. Why did I ever come here. This is awful. This is awful. This is awful. I'm awful. What have I done? What do I do?_' These thoughts, plus many more, rushed through my mind. My brain wouldn't shut up and my ears were ringing. I wanted to throw up. I wanted to cry for help, but I never wanted to see anyone ever again. The eyes. All of them. Staring.

I felt a hand on my arm. Of all people, it was Silver. I looked at him with wide eyes and a blank expression.

He looked back with anything but judgement. He smiled and went from kneeling to sitting on the ground across from me. "I won't make you go back in there." He held out a sandwich out in front of me. I looked from it to him. "I'll just eat lunch out here with you." He didn't stop smiling. I noticed he had a sandwich of his own in his other hand.

I took it from him with little hesitation, but didn't look him in the eyes. I was hungry; there was no use in denying it. I took a bite of the sandwich. "Why did you come out here?" I said, refusing to look him in the face.

"Hm? Well, because we're friends," he said cheerfully, with his mouth full, "and I care about you."

I finally looked him in the face. His smile was contagious; slowly, a smile leaked onto my face. He kept on smiling and put his hand on my shoulder soothingly. "You'll get through this because I know for a fact that you are strong and us, as your friends, we will always be at your side and supporting you with every move you make." He would have sounded serious if not for the sandwich muffling his words.

The rest of my day went just about as smoothly as the first half, although I had my emotions in check this time around.

"Hey, why don't we go hang out somewhere?" Shadow said after we were let out of school. He looked nervous.

I was taken aback.

"You know, to get your mind off things." He said quickly.

"Oh, why don't we all go?" I replied.

His face dropped a little. "Oka-"

"No, no! You two go! We- we'll catch up with you later!" Rouge cut in loudly.

I looked at her, surprised. She looked excited. "If you're sure..."

I began walking with Shadow and we went off campus and towards the town.

"What was up with her, do you think?" I asked him.

"I don't know..." He said sharply. He looked uncomfortable.

I decided to change the subject. "Where did you want to go?" I looked in front of us.

"I was thinking I could buy you a smoothie or something...?" He said.

We sat in the shop, silently drinking our smoothies.

Suddenly, an aching pain sprouted above the roof of my mouth. I dropped my cup on the table. "Ah! Ahhhh! Wh-what is that?! Why does my head hurt?" I stood up, fingers on my temples, dancing in my spot. "Ahh! S-someone... SOMEONE POISONED MY DRINK! AHHHH!" I shouted. The pain started to subside and I opened my eyes, shocked at what I saw. "W-why are you laughing?! I'm _dying_!"

"X-," he was laughing uncontrollably, "Xena! C-calm down. You just got b-brain freeze."

"What?" My voice cracked.

"It happens when you drink cold things too fast." He was still grinning.

"Oh. You could have told me that..." I mumbled. Face red, I sat down with everyone in the store looking at me.

-Shadow's POV-

We walked out of the shop and I looked at her once more. I loved the way she did anything.

The way her grey eyes drifted into space when in deep thought, the way she clutched the handle of her bag when she was nervous, the way she smiled cautiously after being naïve, the way her long, curly, purple quills bounced when she walked, the way she tripped over her own feet sometimes...

"Shadow? Shadow!"

I snapped out of my daze. "Hm?" I looked over to Xena.

"Where do you want to go now?" She asked happily.

"Eh... The park?"

"Sounds good to me."

We sat in a vacant park bench that overlooked the paths that intertwined through trees. Many moments passed in silence.

"School is stupid." Xena said out of nowhere.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"It's stupid. I hate it." She looked foreward blankly.

"Heh... Everyone thinks that. It may seem like you'd be better off without it, but imagine how you'd really be if you didn't go." I said, expecting to lighten her mood.

"You're wrong. I hadn't gone to school for four years." She said, still not looking me in the eyes. "I don't think I'm better off now than I was before."

I just sat and looked at her, shocked. "You think you would be better off without me and the others." I said flatly and looked down at me feet.

Her eyes widened and she finally looked over at me. "Thats... That's not what I meant at all. I mean that I-"

"I know what you mean." I looked into her eyes. "It's everyone else. You don't want as much attention as you have accidentally accrued. You hate it because its what made you unable to control yourself. You almost hurt someone. I know that that is the last thing you ever want to do. You have an incurable flaw that drastically sets you apart from others and school just brings you to all of the others that are most judgemental. You want nothing more than to be invisible. You want everyone to stay away. To just let you be. But in school, that is nearly impossible. That's why you hate it."

Mouth open slightly, Xena looked at me with tears in her eyes. I reached over to wipe them away. Hands on either side of her face, I continued.

"But I know that you can be and are better than them. Just for being who you are. If anyone can deal with this, it's you." I stared into her eyes. Our faces had grown closer and closer to each other and continued to do so until we were less than an inch apart.

Into each other's eyes we stared for what seemed like hours.

Finally, I leaned in further and pressed my lips to hers. Squeezing my eyes shut, I only felt her warm lips touching mine. My stomach was churning and my lips tingled from the sensation. My rapid heartbeat was pounding in my ears.

I pulled away and opened my eyes. I saw Xena, eyes wider than I'd ever seen them, mouth gaping with shock. "I-I-I should g-go..." She stammered. She stood up and her red face disappeared as she turned away sprinted back home, I assumed.

I leaned over and put my face in my hands. '_Shit_.' I thought. '_You really fucked up this time_.'

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**Meh. There it is. Bask in its nonexistent glory. Tell me how you feel about it. Or don't. Whatever you prefer.**

**Also, is this too long? I want to know if longer chapters are better than more frequent chapters. It'd help a lot! Thanks for putting up with my insufferable tardiness.**


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